Shattuck-St. Mary's "Preps" for Nationals
#1 Shattuck U18 celebrates scoring in 5-1 win over the #7 Team Wisconsin
For Minnesota Hockey teams, the winter season ended with last weekend's State Tourneys. For USA hockey, the winter season will not end until the USA national tourneys are played April 2-6. Shattuck's Prep (U18), U16, and Bantam teams will be playing in the U18, U16, and U14 Tier I national tourneys in Green Bay WI that week. This weekend, Shattuck Preps played two games with Team Wisconsin to end their season; Team Wisconsin, a before and after team, played its only two "after" games before traveling to Green Bay to host the U18 Tier I nationals. Team Wisconsin and Shattuck teams will be at Green Bay. So will YHH.
USA hockey holds national tourneys this year in seven different locations. All the tourneys, except High School, are played April 2-6. The High School tourney will be played next weekend in Omaha NE. This year the Tier I U18, U16, and U14 tourneys are played in Green Bay.
No draw has been announced for the U18 Tier I tourney since the field is still not set as of this post. Some teams are known. Shattuck, ranked #1, and #7 Team Wisconsin will be there. They will joined by #3 ranked Belle Tire, #5 ranked Culver Academy, #10 ranked Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, #22 ranked Colorado Rampage (the Rampage opened their season with three games in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League), and the LA Jr Kings.
Shattuck's Jeremy Brodeur is like a calm island in the middle of swirling players as the puck flies right. Team Wisconsin hammered on Brodeur for most of the third period in losing to the Sabres 5-1
Saturday evening, Shattuck's Prep team and Team Wisconsin played the first of a two game series at Shattucks' New Arena in Faribault MN. The Sabre's Preps finished the season with a 38-7-2 record and ranked #1 (out of 120 U18 Tier I teams) in the national polls. Team Wisconsin is a "before and after" team meaning they put a team together in August/September, played hockey September through early Novmember (mostly in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League), and then disbanded. That is the "before". The players on the roster played Wisconsin High School hockey over the winter season.
Team Wisconsin reformed in early March to play games in preparation for the nationals. This is the "after" season. This week's two games with Shattuck are the only games Team Wisconson will play in their "after" season before going to the nationals. Despite not playing over the winter months, Team Wisconsin was ranked #7 national going into this past weekend's games at Faribault.
Picture 1: A Shattuck forward (in the picture background) has just let a 80 plus mile per hour shot go at Team Wisconsin's goalie Ryan Wischow.
Team Wisconsin played most of their before season games in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League in their before season and posted a 9-10-2 record. Overall, they are 17-12-2. They played Shattuck twice last October losing 4-2 and 5-2. Shattuck finished third in the UMHSEL. Still Team Wisconsin had a good UMHSEL season, closing well, taking second place in the league's post season tourney.
The Badger State team has 22 players all 1995 or 1996 borne players. Their scoring leaders are Charley Grasskamp/Eau Claire Memorial (32 points/9 goals), Michael Wilson/Fond Du Lac (29 points/8 goals), and Brett Gruber/Notre Dame. Wilson had a good UMHSEL season last fall. Last night Charlie Parker/Waukesha Engineering Prep Academy had a good game giving the Sabres' defense fits.
Team Wisconsin's two goalies, Ryan Wischow/Ashwauben and Nathan Siclovan/SPASH split the goal tending duties. Both are stopping just over 90% of the shots on net. Wischow started Saturday's game.
Shattuck's team skates a 20 player roster (18 forwards/2 goalies). Twelve of the Sabres are 1995/1996er's, 6 are 1997 borne and 2 are 1998er's. One of the 1998er's is sophomore defenseman Ryan Lindgren/Lakeville; the second is team scoring leader, sophomer Clayton Keller/Swansea IL (67 points/31 goals). This season the Sabres scoring is spread among five players. Besides Keller, Anthony Petrelli/Hilton NY (66 points/34 goals), Ryan Norman/Maplewood MN (65 points/23 goals), Chase Phelps/Eagan MN (58 goals/23 points), and Alex Rodriguez (55 points/21 goals) have all posted more then 50 points in the 47 regular season games the Sabres played this year.
Keller, Lindgren, and Collin Saccoman/Stillwater MN were scratched from last night's game along with forward Alex Falconer/Kohler WI forcing the Sabre coaches to go with different lines in the opening period until they settled. Team Wisconsin had the same problem (but were missing only defenseman Jake Miller). They were playing their first game since the end of October.
Picture 2: Less than 300 miliseconds later, the puck is in the viewer's eye. Such are the dynamics of Minnesota High School or U18 Tier I hockey.
Shattuck's Larry Jungwirth (#15) goes flying trying to turn this pass into a shot on goal.
Period One-Rust Show 2
Team Wisconsin's U16 showed their rust in an early game against Shattuck's U16 team. The U18's were not different. It showed that this was their first game as a team in four plus months in the opening period. Unlike the Badger State's U16 team, the U18's were pressured by the fast pace forced by Shattuck. Team Wisconsin got some early pressure on the Sabre's net, but consistantly were forced into bad shots usually caused by passes that just trailed the target or slid aimlessly into open ice. The Sabre's fast closing on the passers was the principle cause.
The Sabres' line of Ryan Norman, Kevin Dineen, and Roy Radke/Geneva IL started to dominate on their shifts as the period progressed. The line put the pressure on the Badger State defense in the TW's zone and at the eight minute mark, put together a neat passing play off the end boards to score. Norman, who has added some size and strength over the winter season, got the goal. Dineen and Radke got the assists.
After that score, Team Wisconsin settled and the game was evenly played the rest of the period. No more scores were posted. The period ended 1-0, Shattuck leading.
Period 2-Passes don't connect
Team Wisconsin played loose with the puck in their own zone in the right corner in the opening minute of the second period and it cost them a goal. Shattuck's Broydon Stufko/Prescott ON picked up the loose puck and skated right to left across the top of the Badger State's crease burying the puck into the upper left corner of the net. One minute gone in the period, and Shattuck led 2-0. Stufko's score turned out to be the game winner. Alex Rodriquez got the assist.
Two minutes later, Shattuck-St. Mary's picked up a minor penalty. Team Wisconsin was stymied on the power play by Phelps and Petrellia who constantly took the puck away from the Badger attack in neutral ice and turned the puck back into Team Wisconsin's zone. That second goal and the inability to get significant pressure on the following power play took the steam out of Team Wisconsin. They struggled on offense for the rest of the period.
At the 5 minute mark, the Sabres drew a crosschecking penalty while on the attack in the Badger State's zone. For the first time in the period, Team Wisconsin got sustained pressure on the power play forcing Sabre's goalie Jeremy Brodeur/Essex Falls NJ to make some tough stops. Things were starting to change in Team Wisconsin's favor.
But the Sabres' changed that by scoring a minute later. A Sabre forward attacked the Badger State net on the right side drawing the defense right while trying to push the puck into the net. Instead it rebounded into the slot to Jorden Klehr/Lino Lakes MN. Klehr beat the goalie left with a high hard shot to put Shattuck up 3-0. Petrilla and Dineen got the assists. The period ended with Shattuck up 3-0. Both teams drew late penalties and the teams skated 4-on-4 as the period ended. Team Wisconsin was still struggling to get their passing game going.
Shattuck's Jeremy Brodeur makes a glove save on a point blank shot by TW's Conner Blanck (#10 left). Brodeur's head and glove are blurred because his speed in making the catch exceeded the ability of the camera to capture a focused picture.
Period Three-Some Great Hockey
The first minute of the third period had Team Wisconsin on the power play. The Badger State team had pressure but as the teams transtioned to normal play, Shattuck caught the Badger State defense in a scramble. Setting up in the TW zone, they moved the puck around the perimeter to defenseman Tyler Rockwell at the right point. Rockwell put a hard shot on net beating the goalie to Shattuck up 4-0.
TW was not "in synch" for much of their play in the opening minutes of the third until Shattuck scored. They stepped up their pace and for the first time started to connect as a team. Team Wisconsin started to show the passing skills they had shown in the UMHSEL last fall. It resulted in great pressure on the Shattuck net and goalie Brodeur. Despite being down 4-0, the Badger State team turned the game into a fun game to watch in the third period as both teams were forced to play at a high level.
When Shattuck drew a penalty at the 4 minute mark, Team Wisconsin had their chance to score or even get back into the game, but Shattuck's Alex Rodriquez beat Team Wisconsin's defense to score a shorthanded goal and put the Sabres up 5-0.
Still the Badgers did not give up. With 52 seconds left on the clock, TW's Matt Berkovitz/Ashwaubenon drove a rebounding puck past Brodeur from the lower left faceoff circle to end the scoring 5-1.
Shattuck's Jordan Klehr (#22 left) scores this goal in the second period to put Shattuck up 3-0. Note how Kevin Dineen (#10) and Ryan Norman (#9 right) have tied up the defense and cleared the path for a shot.
What is Next?
Both teams head for pool play in Green Bay scheduled to open April 2. Shattuck Prep team looks ready considering they played Saturday's game missing four players including one of their top scorers. Team Wisconsin shaked some of their rust and started to show some great offense in the third period to support their #7 ranking nationally. Now it all depends on the draw.